NEW Honda Civic Type R review: the best hot hatch in HISTORY

Steve Sutcliffe drives the 2022 FL5 Honda Civic Type R on road and track.

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Despite the rabid anticipation surrounding the new Honda Civic Type R, and the eye-watering £46,995 price tag Honda has just attached to it, the car itself contains surprisingly few all-new components beside the car it replaces. Yes, it has a new bodyshell that’s 15 per cent stiffer than before (which is a great starting point) but its engine and gearbox are essentially the same as before, as are its steering, brakes and suspension. And yet the overall result is a hot hatchback that once again rewrites the rules when it comes to front-wheel drive dynamics. It is, quite simply, the best hot hatchback there has ever been. In places, by quite some margin.

How? Well what Honda has done with the Type R this time is clever, and quite unusual. Rather than spend time and money developing a range of brand-new components, Honda’s engineers have instead evolved what they already knew worked rather well on the existing Type R, fine tuning them to a level that would never have been possible had they started from scratch.

On the one hand, you could argue that the budget wouldn’t have allowed them to develop an all-new powertrain in the first place, so they had no option but to work on what they already had. But on the other hand, few manufacturers would have the confidence to allow its engineers to spend four years essentially honing a car that was already in a class of one, but that’s essentially what Honda has done here. Steve Sutcliffe tests the newcomer on road and track in this first drive review.

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[jamesmallison]

Exactly... The best hot hatch that literally no-one can afford. Car prices have got so daft over the last 10years. There was a time when an E46 M3 was £45-£48k New. Now you can spec an M3 to nearly £90k. Outrageous

[Android-vkyh]

A stiff suspension is what makes a type R. I have an Fn2 GT And yes, it's a bit harsh on main road and bumps, but when you hit those corners in the b roads puts a big smile on your face. Even my family car is a bit stiff being a Mazda CX-5 but for a family car again it handles lovely through the lanes.

[CypressRacing]

Great video. Fortunate enough to be enjoying mine in the states for the last 3 weeks. It's been absolutely amazing...true gem of a car.

[Ollie_]

When you consider Porsche 981 Cayman GTS manuals are selling for £50k - that’s a lot of car for the money

[Nemoticon]

I still can't get over how a Civic today is bigger than an Accord from the 90s!

[sundaramirtanandha]

Steve you should do more test vids... simply awesome.
Its fantastic that Honda have kept to the pure DNA of a hot hatch, Front Wheel Drive and Manual Gearbox.
Better start saving!

[jamiep]

I enjoyed watching the Video Review. The World’s Best Hot Hatch Just got even better 😊

[jonandrews]

The £34k I spent on a GR Yaris makes me feel particularly smug now 😊

[seshelbow]

The fact they gained so much without whacking the power up massively is can boost the power up

[theofanisvasilakakos]

I was waiting for video ... And I was hoping that AUTOEXPRESS gave Steve the assignment. No disrespect for the others at AE, but the Type R is Steve material

[Aliozka]

JPY 4, 997, 300 = £30k
Almost £50k in the UK doesn't make sense.

[stobsie]

Granted everything has gone up in price but £47k is simply ludicrous.

[joshjmilli]

Truly a great looking car. But I really miss the small compact size that the EK9 and even EP3 had. Car looks very big for a Civic.

[xdudtrackdaytoy]

£47k 🤪
Not really a hot hatch anymore either, it’s huge 🤣

[irfaan]

Yes ! .. Steve back in a hot Honda ! 🔥

[infidelrr]

This is one of the rare cars that I actually want to go buy new... Sadly dealer markups are ensuring that I won't get that chance.

[keith]

Could the price increase mean that the moving of production outside UK may have affected it?

[IdaiMakayaPublications]

This price increase is unjustified. It's the same car! Other car reviewers have raced this against the old one, and it's actually slower. The TypeR engine has hardly changed since the 2003 version and this car is less than 1 sec faster than the version of 20 year's ago. This is typical of the rip-off car industry. I think reviewers need to be bold enough to tell it as it is, rather than pandering to manufacturers in order to be contacted for press launches.

[gavsmart]

I don't understand the jump in cost that's à45s territory

[SteYoung]

As an owner of a then new 2002 Type-R at £16, 500 I cannot believe the price of the newest model. The prev gen Type-R that got a few tweaks was 'merely' a couple of grand more so this £12k or so price difference at around 185% increase from my 2002 type-R, just feels like a blatant money grab. Its so disappointing.

Theyre not alone sadly.

As a fan im pleased the Type-R is still causing a stir but not at this price.